Farmers Movement Archive

Direct BJP-SP contest likely in district panchayat chairpersons’ polls in Uttar Pradesh

A direct contest is likely between the ruling Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) and the main opposition Samajwadi Party (SP) for a majority of the zila (district) panchayat chairpersons’ posts, going by the scenario in most of the 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. The election is scheduled on July 3.The Samajwadi Party that upset the BJP’s applecart in the three-tier panchayat elections held in April by bagging 779 zila panchayat wards has mobilized its resources in a bid to capture a majority of the zila panchayat chief’s posts.The BJP that won 579 wards is out to counter the SP strategy by winning the maximum number of chairpersons’ posts. The Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) that won 361 panchayat wards and the Congress that bagged 76 wards are also working out their strategies to make their presence felt by allying with like-minded parties or winning the support of independent ward members.The 3,050 district panchayat ward members will play a decisive role in the election for the 75 zila panchayat chairpersons’ posts. Among them, 1,272 are independents or members of smaller parties.The State Election Commission, in a notification on June 15, announced that the election will be held on July 3. The chairperson will be elected by the system of proportional representation by single transferable vote, making each vote crucial. The BJP, SP and the BSP have started working for extra votes and are lobbying with the members of other parties or independents.The Samajwadi Party appears to have the upper hand in its strongholds of Mainpuri, Etah, Firozabad, Kasganj, Etawah, Kannauj, Auraiya, Rampur and Fatehpur. In eastern and central UP, it is in a comfortable position in Ballia, Mirzapur, Kanpur, Lucknow, Siddharthnagar, Jaunpur, Lakhimpur, Prayagraj, Varanasi, Ghazipur, Kushinagar, Maharajganj, Bijnor, Unnao, Bahraich, Ayodhya and Pratapgarh districts with more ward members in its ranks than the rival BJP.The support of the Rashtriya Lok Dal (RLD), the Mahan Dal as well as the Pragatisheel Samajwadi Party (PSP) (Lohia) led by Shivpal Yadav paved the way for victory of SP members in a large number of wards. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav also opened the doors for rebel SP leaders belonging to the OBC (Other Backward Class) community in the Kurmi-dominated Lakhimpur, Barabanki, Gonda and Mirzapur districts.Senior SP leaders, as well as 49 party MLAs, have fanned out to the various districts, holding meetings with the district units to finalise the candidates and rope in the independents, said an SP leader.The BJP appears to be in a comfortable position in Badaun, Gorakhpur, Mathura, Agra, Hardoi, Jhansi, Baghpat, Bulandshahr, Gautam Buddha Nagar, Moradabad, Shahjahanpur, Sambhal, Bhadohi, Saharanpur and Basti districts.Realising that the support of smaller parties will be important in winning the zila panchayat chairpersons’ posts, the BJP has reached out to its alliance partners Apna Dal (Sonelal) and the Nishad party. The BJP leaders are also understood to have held talks with Suheldev Bhartiya Samaj Party (SBSP) led by Om Prakash Rajbhar.UP BJP general secretary (organisation) Sunil Bansal and state unit president Swatantra Dev Singh are holding meetings in various districts to collect feedback from the party office bearers, as well as discussing the poll strategy.The BSP won several ward seats in Azamgarh, Saharanpur, Meerut, Bhadohi, Ghazipur, Jalaun, Chitrakoot, Banda and Pratapgarh districts. The independent ward members will play a crucial role in deciding the fate of the candidates fielded by the political parties.That the political parties are leaving no stone unturned to upstage the rivals could be gauged from the fact that BJP has made an independent, Shyam Sunder Verma aka Sadhu Verma, the candidate for the chairman’s post in Ambedkar Nagar district. In Baghpat, it has decided to field rebel SP candidate Baabli Devi. In Jaunpur, the BJP leaders held talks with Srikala, the wife of former MP Dhananjay Singh. In Hathras, the BJP has fielded Seema Upadhyay, wife of rebel BSP MLA Ramveer Upadhyay.In Sitapur, the BJP got a shot in the arm when 12 independent members joined it. The Nishad party ward members announced their support to the BJP in Sultanpur district.In Sant Kabir Nagar district, the SP has fielded independent candidate Baliram Yadav for the chairperson’s post. In Aligarh, the SP earlier announced it was fielding Archana Yadav but later decided to back RLD candidate Rajkumari.In Saharanpur, the BSP has joined hands with the Congress and the BKU (Bhartiya Kisan Union) to work for the victory of its candidate Shimla Devi. In Pratapgarh district, Jansatta Dal Loktantrik led by Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiya, holds the key to the victory of the BJP or SP candidates.Samajwadi Party (SP) spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary alleged the BJP was misusing the state government machinery to win the support of independents.BJP leader and cabinet minister Sidharth Nath Singh refuted the SP’s allegation. He said the BJP would win a majority of the zila panchayat chairpersons’ posts.

Hindustan Times

19-06-2021

Lucknow